You might need to start eating less when you are trying to lose weight; because there are several strategies you can use to cut calories while keeping hunger at bay. Here are simple tips that can help you control your food portions without feeling hungry
1. Begin with a vegetable soup or salad
It might seem counter-intuitive to eat more courses in order to eat less food, but starting your meal with a soup or salad can help you to do just that. Light vegetable soups and salads have high water content, and are full of fiber-rich veggies and are generally low in calories. Starting off with a low-calorie soup or salad takes the edge off your hunger, priming you to eat less of the main course.
2. Make at least half of your plate veggies
Vegetables have lots of filling water and fiber, but not a lot of calories. By replacing half the starch or protein of your meal with non-starchy vegetables, you can eat the same volume of food and still slash overall calories.
3. Eat proteins with every meal or snack
Protein makes you feel full in a that carbs and fats don’t. Focus on lean sources of protein such as eggs, skinless poultry, dairy, seafood and fish. Plant-based proteins are also good choices including beans, bean dips, tofu and nut butters. Therefore, take advantage of protein’s filling properties by including it in every meal and snack.
4. Eat more soluble fiber
Fiber-rich foods can help you feel full. Foods with soluble fiber, such as oatmeal, pears and beans, apples, chia seeds are particularly filling because soluble fiber holds more water, giving it bulk. In the digestive tract also, soluble fiber produces a thick gel that helps to slow digestion, keeping hunger at bay.
5. Drink water with your meal
Drinking calorie-rich beverages like juice or soda leaves you with extra calories you don’t need. But drinking water with your meal saves you these extra calories and drinking a glass of water before meal also helps you to eat less.
6. Use smaller plates and forks
When you have more on your plate, you are likely to eat more, which means, the size of your plates and eating utensils affects how much you eat. Using smaller plates can help you to keep portion sizes in check while, tricking your brain into thinking you’re eating more.
7. Eat mindfully
It can be all too easy to eat more while, distracted especially with your smart phone, the television or a hectic lifestyle. Mindful eating is the practice of paying full attention to what you eat without distractions, by so doing, it helps you to notice your body’s hunger and fullness cues, so that you can actually know when you’ve had enough.
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